The week in pictures: 30 November 2012

A mother and her daughter check out a red algal bloom in the water at Clovelly Beach in Sydney. A number of beaches in Australia have been closed after the sea turned blood red. The thick red bloom sits on the surface of the water and is accompanied by a 'fishy smell'. Testing is currently being conducted to discover the cause of the algae, with one suggestion that it has been caused by an upwelling of colder nutrient-rich water. The algae in question is actually thought to be blue-green algae, which is often brown, red or pink in colour.Picture: Newspix / Rex Features